Cook County Highway Department gets new name, mission

October 17, 2012|By Jon Hilkevitch, Chicago Tribune reporter

The duties of the Cook County Highway Department will be expanded from primarily road maintenance to include focusing with other agencies on regional planning and competing more effectively for federal funding, County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is expected to announce Wednesday.

The changes, incorporated into the county's fiscal 2013 budget, will help the Highway Department better plan and design roads and bridges, including improving connections for transit commuters among the CTA, Metra and Pace across Chicago and suburban Cook County, Preckwinkle said.

The county highway agency will also get a new name, the Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways, officials said.

"With a broader, more strategic focus, the Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways will be able to have a meaningful impact in shaping how our transportation systems impact regional economies and promote growth,'' Preckwinkle said.

Part of the restructuring will require the department to hire staff with expertise in urban planning, county spokesman Owen Kilmer said.

John Yonan, the current county superintendent of highways, will head up the new department, officials said.

The department is responsible for maintaining almost 1,500 lane miles, 134 bridges and 351 traffic signals, officials said. Its fiscal 2012 budget was $7.7 million. The 2013 budget will be announced Thursday, officials said.

The transition to the Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways is scheduled to take effect Dec. 1, which is the first day of the new fiscal year.